XXX
William's hands shake as he moves, trance-like, toward the glowing window. Through a tiny crack in the blinds, he sees his mother. Her hair is shorter than he's used to, a more fiery shade of red. In her arms, a pajama-clad baby. The image lasts for only a split second before she moves out of his view.
The awe of seeing his young mother and baby self are quickly replaced by alarm when he realizes Mulder isn't in the room. His racing thoughts stop cold, however, when he hears the dull metal click behind him.
"Step away from the window."
His father's voice, low and dangerous.
Will slowly raises his hands but doesn't turn, keeping Mulder at his back as he walks toward the treeline.
"That's far enough," Mulder says before he can step into the shadows. "Turn around."
With a tense sigh, Will obeys, keeping his hooded head down as much as he can. He tries to appear calm but his heart is hammering in his chest as his eyes flick up to his father. He tries not to stare at the man who stands before him, gun leveled steadily at his chest. Mulder's green eyes are dark, his gaze suspicious and distrustful.
"Who are you?"
Will meets his eyes for a fraction of a second, trying to impart his sincerity.
"I can't tell you. But I'm here to help."
Mulder's eyes narrow.
"You called Scully this morning, didn't you?"
When Will nods, Mulder takes a step closer, his eyes flashing momentarily to the door to their room.
"What do you want with her? What do you want with my son?"
His voice is so raw that Will has to resist the urge to take a step back. Instead, he raises his hands a little higher.
"Only to protect them," he says softly. "And you. You're the one in danger."
"I've been in danger for years," Mulder counters. "You're going to have to do better than that."
"Two men have been following you," Will replies quietly. "I can't tell you their identities because from what I can tell, they don't have any. They're working on behalf of somebody in the government, and tomorrow night they're going to catch up with you. They'll kill you outside of the next motel."
Mulder stares at him, for the first time running out of questions. The muscles in his jaw work as he considers the apparent stranger's warning, but he doesn't lower his gun.
Before either man can speak again, the door opens and light floods out into the darkened parking lot. He turns his head, but the spark of confusion in Mulder's eyes tells Will that he has already seen.
His mother's voice sounds from the doorway, but Will doesn't dare turn to it.
"It's alright, Scully," Mulder calls quietly, lowering his gun slightly to show that he feels the threat is minimal. "It's your friend from the pay phone. We're just going to talk. Stay inside with William, I'll yell if I need you."
When she goes back inside, albeit reluctantly, Mulder raises the gun again, motioning Will around the corner to where the offices are. He has no choice but to obey, and when they come within range, the floodlight kicks on.
"Alright, take down your hood."
Will's heart beats heavily in his chest as he slowly reaches up for his hood. When it falls to his shoulders, Mulder's gaze hardens, suspicious again. He doesn't, however, seem surprised by the strange semi-translucence of the man before him. He's seen weirder, I guess, Will thinks.
"What are you?" The question is posed as if he could be anything.
Holding Mulder's gaze, Will slowly lowers his hands.
"Human, to the best of my knowledge," he replies, trying to ease the tension a little. "My...appearance is a side effect of temporal displacement." He cringes a little, waiting to be written off as a lunatic.
Mulder's eyebrows raise only slightly.
"Temporal displacement? You're saying you're from a different time? Or what?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but yes. And if that's not enough to make you shoot me, nothing will, so could you put the gun down?"
After a long moment, Mulder slowly lowers the gun.
"Thanks."
"You want to tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Despite only having known his father for a matter of minutes, William recognizes that beneath his tough, demanding exterior, Mulder is starting to become curious enough to hear him out.
"I'm here because I know what happens," Will says carefully, knowing that he should try not to divulge too much about his identity. "I came to try to stop it."
"Me being killed," Mulder says flatly, not a question. "Tomorrow."
"Yes."
"Why would anyone put forth the effort to go back in time and keep me alive? The whole damn planet wants me dead, as far as I can tell. And who's to say it will stick? I might be killed next week even if I get lucky tomorrow."
"I have...a unique knowledge of your timeline," Will says. "I can tell you things about your enemies that will keep you a step ahead."
Mulder stares at him for a long moment, deliberating. Will tries to be patient, knowing that his parents have good reason not to trust anyone but each other.
"Who are you?" Mulder asks again, his voice tense. "I won't trust anything you've said until I know how you're connected to all this.
"You're important," William manages after a moment. "In my timeline. You're important. That's all I can say."
"Who are you?"
William takes a shaky breath, trying to appear impassive as he meets Mulder's eyes.
"My name is Will. I'm...a friend."
Mulder stares, his jaw tensing as he tries not to search for the resemblance. Not that he would need to search; it's right there in front of him, written into William's face, into his voice and mannerisms, despite his ghost-like appearance.
"No."
He says it quickly, a sharp jab of denial as he backs away.
"No. I know what you're trying to do, and it's not happening this time."
Will starts after him, but Mulder raises the gun again, his eyes blazing.
"You stay back," he hisses, stealing a glance around the corner to the room where Scully and baby William are. "You took Samantha. You took my father. You've almost taken Scully from me and I'll be damned if you're going to come anywhere near our son."
"No, I-"
"I'm going to go back into that room now," Mulder says, low and dangerous. "And I'm going to get my family. We're going to drive away from here, and if you try to follow us, I will kill you."
Will's throat closes up at the words 'my family', and he can't help but move to follow.
"Wait, Mulder-"
Mulder whips back around, grabbing Will and throwing him up against the wall. The gun presses against his neck, cold metal beneath his jaw.
"I won't tell you again," Mulder growls. His forearm presses against Will's throat.
Will forces himself to hold his father's gaze, willing him to see the truth in his eyes.
"You were going to ask her to marry you," he says, barely a whisper beneath the crushing hold.
Mulder stops cold, his face a mask of shock for the briefest moment before he regains his composure.
"My mother wears a ring with her cross pendant," Will continues before Mulder can respond. "She found it- well, I found it, technically, tried to cram the whole box in my mouth…...a few weeks after your funeral. Your second funeral. But I guess I wasn't born for the first one."
Mulder's eyes flash with anger and fear. "I don't believe you."
"When you first came back from hiding, you and M- Scully decided to make Walter my god father. He was like another uncle, mostly. But after grandma died, he was the only person left to be there for Mom." Will's voice is starting to choke with emotion. "I wasn't. I was too busy working on this."
He gestures at himself, at Mulder.
"You want to know who from the future would go to the effort to keep you alive?" he whispers. "My name is William Scully. My father died when I was fifteen months old, in our car on the side of Interstate 81 in southern Pennsylvania, minutes after taking a bullet in the chest protecting me and my mother from two unknown assailants outside our motel room. I have no memories of him, and only two photographs."
Mulder stares, speechless. After a moment, he steps quickly back, releasing William and letting the gun drop.
"Look at me," Will chokes, blinking to keep his vision clear. "Look at me, and tell me you don't believe that I'm your son."
Mulder's face is unreadable.
"Half a dozen times, I met a woman who claimed to be my sister," he says slowly. "Looked just like her. Knew everything about her. But it wasn't her. It wasn't even the same woman every time."
He sighs, looking weary and beaten, years older than he is. "Clones, hybrids, time travelers….I don't know what to believe anymore."
Will is silent, still as the impossibly familiar face studies his own.
"You could be him," Mulder says finally, quietly. "William. I've always been a little surprised that he doesn't have Scully's eyes."
"Whether you believe that I am or not, you've got to listen to me."
Will's voice is pleading, and he can tell that his distress does not go unnoticed.
Sighing again, Mulder beckons him forward.
"Whoever you are, we should argue about it inside. Scully's probably a breath away from coming out here and shooting you regardless of what I say. I'd like for you to be able to explain yourself to her before that happens, especially if you are who you say you are."
He starts walking back to the motel room door, but Will makes no move to follow.
"I don't think I should meet her," he says, suddenly wary. "Or….the baby."
Mulder stops, waits for an explanation.
"This is all still very experimental," Will stammers, suddenly nervous. "I don't know what the rules are yet. It's probably ok with you, because in my timeline, we've basically never met," he swallows, trying not to let Mulder see how much that fact affects him. "But with them….it might not be a good idea."
Before Mulder can respond, a soft rustling behind him makes him whip around, raising his gun. The intruder steps out of the shadows, gun also raised.
"Dammit, Scully," Mulder breathes as he lowers his weapon.
Will ducks back into the shadows, pulling his hood back over his head.
"Shit," he mutters, chancing a glance back at his parents. Scully is looking at him suspiciously, but lowers her gun when Mulder's hand finds her arm. Will keeps his head down so she can't see his face.
"It's okay," Mulder murmurs to his partner before glancing back at Will.
"You were taking too long," she replies, tense but not apologetic. "I had to check."
"Everything's fine." His gaze is intense, and Will can tell that their conversations are, more often than not, wordless. "Trust me. Go back inside, I'll be there in a moment."
When she has disappeared around the corner, Will steps back into the light. The way that Mulder regards him is not quite trusting, but certainly more relaxed.
"Told you," he says with a ghost of a smile.
Will can't help but utter a soft chuckle.
"You should come inside," Mulder says, nodding back the way Scully had gone. "Things can barely get more messed up than they already are, apparently. Besides, I have to tell Scully something. She's not just going to let this go."
Will's brow creases as he frowns slightly. "I know she won't." He sighs. "I can't risk it, though."
He holds Mulder's gaze for a long moment, memorizing the planes of his face in case they never meet again. The thought makes him ache so hard that he almost caves, almost goes to the warm little room where he can sit and talk with both his parents for the first time in his life.
"Tell her whatever you think is best," he says finally. "But keep the blinds closed and the lights off tonight. Sleep in shifts, and watch the door."
Mulder looks at him confusedly, wary again.
"I thought you said it was tomorrow."
Will glances around at the shadows edgily. "Like I said, I don't know the rules. My being here could have changed everything."
Mulder nods, satisfied with this answer, and signifying that he will be cautious.
"I'll be close," Will continues. "But the fewer people who see me, the better. I'll stay in contact as much as I can."
He bites his lip. "In case I don't see you again-"
Mulder's eyes blaze determinedly. "You will."
"You believe me then?" Will hates how hopeful he sounds, a giddy schoolboy at the end of the world.
The ghosting smile is back for a moment before Mulder turns to walk away. "I want to."
XXX
Scully's anxiety is almost tangible as Mulder steps back into the little room, closing and locking the door behind him. She stands and goes to him immediately, her eyes demanding answers, fearful and protective.
"Who was that?" Her hand finds his; ever since they've been on the run, she's needed to keep physical contact with him, as if he will float away if she doesn't hold him to her.
"A friend of Skinner's, I think," Mulder lies easily, because it seems it could actually be the truth in some convoluted way. "He couldn't give me many solid details, but he knows that there are two men following us. He's going to stay close and keep an extra eye out."
As predicted, Scully isn't that quick to give it up.
"What was with all the secrecy? The hood?"
"If you get the chance to meet him, I'll let you ask him that one yourself," Mulder says, choosing his words carefully. "It's a little hard to explain. But nothing you need to worry about right now."
He tugs her by the hand that still holds him over to the bed where William sleeps. Carefully he pulls her down to the mattress and they lie together around the baby, as they had the night he was born, before Mulder had left.
Scully is remembering too, and her grip on his hand remains tight.
"On the phone this morning, he said you'd be killed," she breathes into the darkness.
Mulder presses his lips to her forehead, moves their joined hands to William's back.
"I know. He said the same to me tonight. He says he can help."
"Can we trust him?"
Mulder pulls back, brushing a hair from her face and giving her a small smile.
"Yeah, I think we can."
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Sorry in advance for confusing everyone with the double-William. By this point I'm almost exclusively calling adultWilliam Will and babyWilliam William, so that helps. Will and Mulder's first interaction was a super fun bit to write, so I hope you liked it. Review and let me know what you think!